An apartment complex owner and landlord faces a penalty of $83,575 for EPA charges of violating Federal Lead Paint Disclosure Rules.

The federal Disclosure Rule ensures that tenants and buyers of pre-1978 housing are given the proper information about lead paint and its risks before signing a contract or lease.

The property owner failed on several counts including failure to provide its tenants with lead hazard information pamphlets, failed to include lead warning statements in leases, failed to include a disclosure statement regarding lead-based paint and/or lead-bases paint hazards, and failed to include lists of records or reports pertaining to leas-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in leases.

“These settlements serve as an important reminder of the importance of using lead-safe practices to protect the health of our children and prevent lead poisoning,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

“At least four million households with children have lead paint, and over a half million children have elevated levels of lead in their blood. But lead exposure is preventable when you know what to look for and what to do,” Giles explained.

EPA Fines 16 Firms for Violations of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule

Recently, sixteen enforcement actions by the EPA – totaling $53,792 in civil penalties – required the respondent to certify that it has come in compliance with the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP).

In three of the complaints, the respondents were fined the statutory maximum of $37,500 per violation.

The failure to follow lead-safe work practices included failure to follow lead-safe work practices where children live, failure to obtain RRP Firm Certification, failure to provide occupant with EPA’s “Renovate right” pamphlet, and failure to failure to certify compliance with RRP Rule.

O&M Programs are put into place whenever there might be a question of asbestos being present. However, there are actually three levels of O&M Programs that can be put in place and this will vary by the scope of the actual project that is being proposed.

The first type of O&M Program project that might be put in place is one that is unlikely to involve any direct contact with asbestos containing materials (ACM). This might include activates that would not potentially disturb asbestos. This would include routine cleaning of structures within a building such as countertops and/or shelves.

The second type of O&M Program is one that might see some accidental disruption of asbestos. For example, if there is known surface asbestos in suspended ceiling and there is maintenance work that needs to be carried out.

The third and most serious type of O&M Program is one that involves moderately smaller disturbances of ACM. These projects are usually small scale, but take place where asbestos is common. For example, a repair being done to pipes in the structure that has asbestos materials in the insulation.

There are larger scale projects that will exist for certain, but these will all generally fall under the asbestos abatement projects. In this case a building owner should consult with a professional to be sure that only qualified procedures are being executed in regards to working with any hazardous ACM.

For more information about Environmental Compliance, please visit our website at www.GoingGlobalGreen.com or contact us at 860.430.9935.

The term “Operations & Maintenance” can be defined simply as a “Formulated Plan”. However the formulated plan will consist of various important elements, such as;

Training Requirements

Safe Work Practices

Periodic Surveillance

Recordkeeping

Federal, State & Local Regulations

And more

Setting up an effective O&M Program is vital for a firm to avoid accidently disturbing or coming into contact with asbestos, or working safely with asbestos containing materials (ACM) or presumed asbestos containing materials (PACM). However, before an O&M program can begin, the type, locations and condition of ACM & PACM to be controlled by the program must be determined.

Since you can’t tell if a material contains asbestos just by looking at it, it’s important to first contact a local State Licensed Asbestos Inspector to assist in determining whether or not asbestos materials exist at your facility.

There are basically three kinds of Asbestos-Containing Material categories that are commonly found and may need to be dealt with when an effective O&M Program is put in place and remains operational.

The first kind of ACM is known as a “Surfacing Material,” which means the ACM was applied or put on by a sprayer or trowel. For example, textured (popcorn) ceiling material and joint compounds are both good examples of surfacing materials.

The second type of ACM is known as “Thermal Installation Insulation (TSI)”. TSI materials were commonly used to control heat transfer or control condensation on pipes or pipe fittings. And typically TSI was applied to, boilers, heating or air conditioning pipes, ducts, and tanks are a common place for this type of ACM.

The third type of ACM is known as “Miscellaneous ACM”. For example, floor and ceiling tiles, mastics, asbestos cement pipes, insulation used on electrical wiring are all examples of some Miscellaneous Materials.

Operationally, an asbestos O&M Program is designed to protect the health and safety of all persons who may come into contact with Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM) or

Presumed Asbestos Containing Materials (PACM). A properly developed and maintained O&M program can assist in a firms compliance efforts with, Federal, State, and Local Regulatory Agencies.

The following are the four main objectives of an O&M Program;

Maintain Asbestos Containing Material in good condition

Ensure proper cleanup of asbestos fibers if previously released

Prevent further release of asbestos fibers

Monitor the condition of any Asbestos Containing Material

An O&M Program can also offer many benefits, such as;

An O&M emphasizes the importance of In-Place Asbestos Compliance. It’s this approach that can provide an opportunity for a less costly alternative to Asbestos Abatement Work.

An O&M offers safe work practices that can protect workers, reducing their risk and the general building environment.

An O&M Program also shows Lenders, Owners, Insurers, Federal, State and Local Agencies that your Program is an effective Operational Control Strategy for Asbestos Compliance.

It’s important to note that not instituting an O&M Program increases your risk not only can you face fines and possible lawsuits, but you could be inadvertently endangering the health and wellbeing of others. So, it is in your best interest to have an O&M Program in place so you are ready to deal with all types of asbestos hazards

For more information about Environmental Compliance, please visit our website at www.GoingGlobalGreen.com or contact us at 860.430.9935.

Environmental Compliance means a firm’s ability to implement various elements of a management system, and provide the tools necessary, such as employee training to produce good environmental performance.

An environmental compliance program starts with management’s commitment to the program, along with responsible employees, and an organizational structure that will establish and adhere to corporate policies. These corporate polices will be translated into procedures, directives and guidelines for rollout and implementation by employees.

Also, outside contractors and vendors who perform work for the company must also take positive steps to improve upon their own Environmental Compliance. An outside contractor who is hired to perform work by a company needs to also be sure their company is adhering to all the environmental laws, regulations, and other such standards on each and every job.

This can come into play for many environmental issues such as; working with lead-based paint, asbestos-containing materials, universal waste and hazardous materials just to name a few.

Being in compliance is something that an entire company should embrace and do together. After all, having a compliance program will help you comply with regulations with consistency and effectiveness. And having a compliance program will also help to avoid having a compliance-oriented program mandated by the EPA.

Now more than ever before there are agencies that are devoted to protecting both people and the environment. The EPA, HUD, and OSHA, along with various State and Local agencies are all on the watch for companies and contractors not in full Environmental Compliance.

Not being in full Environmental Compliance can not only significantly delay your project it can be costly for your company. Those who choose to push the envelope with the law and the agencies that set forth the regulations can see work stopped, have fines levied, and even face lawsuits and/or criminal prosecution.

For more information about Environmental Compliance, please visit our website at www.GoingGlobalGreen.com or contact us at (203) 294-0150 or (203)-294-0156.